Andreas Palicka has played great during the World Cup and is among the top goalkeepers in the championship with a save percentage of 38. But in the semi-final against France, he was more human, which is also due to the fact that the Swedish defense had difficulty stopping the French.
Despite many matches in a few days, Palicka feels energetic in his body ahead of Sunday's bronze medal match against Spain.
- I feel good and I feel an immense desire for revenge.
I am of course not satisfied with my performance yesterday (read the day before yesterday) either.
So of course I want to play and contribute as much as I can and bring everything I have, says Palicka.
"Then I'm old as hell"
The 36-year-old goalkeeper has previously said that the WC 2023 is his last home championship.
But it is not because he has plans to quit the national team.
- My statement about my last home championship is because there is nothing planned for the next few years, and then I will be old and won't play handball, he says with a smile.
- I always have the same process after championships, that you evaluate whether you are good enough and where you are.
What it has given and what it has cost.
Playing for the national team is something I will always want to do, but then there is a limit to when you might not be able to do it.
When I can't do what I want to be able to do with my body, then I won't play handball.
That is what is decisive.
Solberg: "Not what should characterize Swedish defensive play"
Confederation captain Glenn Solberg does not think that Sweden came up to par against France and highlights two things that need to be improved.
- We need to get better at counter-attacking and perhaps dare even more in that phase.
Defensively, we should perhaps be even more compact, we will be a bit sparse and that is not what should characterize Swedish defensive play, says Solberg.
- We have played a mediocre game in the WC and then we did not reach the final, but we have played seven fantastic games so we will really just do what we usually do.